Online Personal Information Security

Safeguarding your personal information is an obligation we take seriously at PFFCU. Please read the following information so that you may better protect yourself against identity theft.

VISA® Fraud Monitoring

The PFFCU Debit Card can be used worldwide; anywhere Visa is accepted.

Due to high amount of fraud occurrences, if you wish to use the Debit Card in certain designated countries, you need to call PFFCU before you travel. Additionally, the use of the PFFCU Visa Credit Card is not permitted in specific countries. For a listing of countries where your card may not work, click here.

Your PFFCU VISA Credit Card and PFFCU Debit Card have various fraud detection and prevention measures in place to ensure your security. We employ sophisticated software to spot suspicious activity so that we can limit a thief’s use of the member’s card. If a fraudulent charge does occur at home or abroad, you can rest easy knowing you have $0 liability on unauthorized purchases when you report the problem promptly.

Due to high incidences of fraud, use of Visa Credit Cards for cash advances that are obtained either through Western Union and/or at a cashiers’ cage in a casino is not permitted.

Identity Theft Protection

To help keep your personal information secure, we encourage you to allow us to scan your photo identification into our system when you visit a branch. This allows us to quickly identify you in the future when you visit any of our branches and helps us prevent unauthorized access to your PFFCU accounts.

We feel so strongly about protecting your account that, if you decline our request to scan your photo identification, we will require that you put a Transaction Authorization Code (TAC) on your account. A TAC is a security code that you select, and once selected, is required to be given in order to perform a transaction or release information about your account. Even if someone obtains your name and account number, our staff would still deny them service without the correct TAC.

You can also choose not to receive paper statements and view your account information online if you are concerned about someone stealing your statements from the mail.

If you believe you may have been a victim of personal identification theft, you should contact a PFFCU representative by phone at 215-931-0300 or 800-228-8801 to report suspicious account activity or provide information about what you believe to be suspicious activity. We can also help take the steps necessary to restore your good credit. You may also visit the NCUA Fraud Hotline website for more information, or file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Additionally, the three credit reporting agencies offer several methods to help protect you from identity theft.

Fraud Alerts

Fraud Alerts help prevent accounts being opened in your name, and act as a red flag on your credit report. You can place a Fraud Alert on your file by contacting one of the three credit reporting agencies; since the three agencies share information, you do not need to contact all three. Three types of Fraud Alerts are available:

An Initial Alert is active for up to 90 days on your account. You should activate an Initial Alert if your personal information (social security number, date of birth, etc.) has been compromised. Once activated, potential creditors will need to verify your identification prior to extending credit, so you should provide them with a phone number where you can be easily reached.

An Extended Alert is recommended for victims of identity theft, and offers 7 years of protection, as well as removing your name from pre screened credit offers marketing lists for 5 years.

If you’re in the military, you are eligible for a Military Fraud Alert, which prevents anyone from establishing credit in your name, while you’re overseas.

If you’ve activated any Fraud Alert and you want to apply for a loan with PFFCU, please let us know so we can help you avoid delays in processing your application. To remove a fraud alert, you will need to make a written request with one of the three credit reporting agencies.

Other Preventative Measures

You can prevent yourself from becoming an identity theft victim by taking a few, simple precautions:

Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request.

If you believe an email contact may not be legitimate, contact the sender to verify it.

Never provide your password over the phone or in response to an unsolicited request.

Never submit personal or confidential information through a website that does not have a or https:// displayed in your web browser’s location bar.

Review your account statements regularly to ensure all your information, including all transactions, are correct.